Later they apparently entered the service of daimyo Ogasawara Tadazane when he fought in the Shimabara Rebellion. In 1634 he settled in Kokura with his stepson Iori. During his service he adopted a boy called Iori and originated the Enmei Ryu school of kenjutsu. In 1615 he entered the service of Ogasawara Tadanao in Harima province as a construction supervisor. Other accounts claim he actually served in the defending side, but many historians disagree with them. In 1614 - 1615 he reputedly joined the troops of Tokugawa Ieyasu when he had besieged Osaka Castle of the Toyotomi family. He briefly established a fencing school that same year. Musashi switched to wood after this fight believing it to be superior in reliability to steel. Musashi came late and unkempt - possibly to unnerve his opponent - and killed him with a bokken that he had made from an oar to be longer than the nodachi. In Aphe had his most famous duel with Sasaki Kojiro who was using a nodachi, a long two-handed sword. Japanese historians seem to believe that he could not have won all of them alone, without some assistance from his students. He is also said to have fought over 60 duels and was never defeated. Most of duels from these times did not try to take opponent's life and unless both agreed, wooden swords were used. He was said to have used bokuto in actual duels. (See Scott Wilson 2004 - Tokitsu 2004)įrom 1605 to 1612 he traveled extensively all over Japan in Musha-Shugyo, a warrior pilgrimage during which he honed his skills with duels. Yet the fact that they had written records at all is an indication that they were survivors of duels.īooks even conflict as to what weapons were used. Most duel records from these times praised their wins but rarely mentioned their losses so it is impossible to know what exactly happened. In the subsequent battle, Musashi fled the scene. Yoshioka family records however claim that Musashi had been hit in the head by Seijuro and lost. After he had defeated the father, he killed both boys in duels - though the latter one was more of an ambush. It is said that Seijuro never held a sword afterward as his pride had been shattered. This duel was not supposed to take the loser's life and thus Musashi left without taking Yoshioka's life. Reputedly he had a grudge against Yoshioka family for how they had treated his father. According to his adopted son Iori, in 1604 Musashi fought a victorious duel against master swordsman Yoshioka Seijuro using only a bokken, a wooden sword. Ichijoji Sagarimatsu, Location of Battle between Musashi and Yoshioka FamilyĪfter the war was over he left for Edo. Though he had some success in this battle, the Toyotomi side lost and he had barely survived escaping this battle. He does not mention this in The Book of Five Rings. His first opponent was an accomplished samurai, Arima Kihei from Kashima, who fought using Shintō-ryu style.Īccording to tradition he fought in the Battle of Sekigahara in the troops loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori as a mercenary. Also he would be unlikely to be received as guest by such famous houses as Honda, Ogasawara and Hosokawa if this were the case (Scott Wilson 2004).Īccording to the introduction of his The Book of Five Rings, where he states some autobiographical details, he had his first successful duel by the age of thirteen. Pictures of him show no signs of ailments. These details are likely later embellishments.Įven in his time stories spread like cowboy comics. Another story claims that he never took a bath, because he did not want to be surprised unarmed. It is said that Musashi contracted eczema in his infancy, which influenced his appearance. When he took his new name for adulthood, Musashi selected the name of his birthplace, Miyamoto. By the time Musashi was nine, his father was either dead or had totally abandoned the boy. He met his father occasionally and they may have sparred together. Reputedly Musashi's mother died in childbirth and either his stepmother Toshiko raised him - even after his father Shinmen Munisai divorced her - or his mother's brother, a priest, raised him. The name Musashi is taken from Musashibō Benkei, the warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune and known as the great warrior who used 9 weapons. His childhood name is either Takezō or Bennosuke. This means, "Member of Shinmen family, the family name Musashi, clan Fujiwara, adulthood name Genshin". His full name was Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Genshin. Apparently he was born into a samurai family in the village of Miyamoto in the province of Mimasaka. His place and date of birth are in doubt but three places lay claim to this. Much of Miyamoto Musashi's past is shrouded in mystery, legends and fiction.
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